Wildfires burned record 10 million acres in 2015
Blazes in Alaska account for about half of scorched territory
For the first time in U.S. history, wildfires charred more than 10 million acres across the nation in 2015, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.
That’s roughly the size of Connecticut and Massachusetts combined.
At 10,125,149 acres burned, it’s the first time the 10 million-acre mark has been topped.
The previous record was set in 2006 when 9,873,745 acres were burned.
This year’s amount is about 4 million more than average, the center announced Tuesday. Fires in Alaska made up about half of the acreage burned.
Nine of the 10 worst years for acres burned have occurred since 2000, center spokesman Randall Eardley said.
Accurate wildfire records go back to 1960.
Before 2000, the USA surpassed 7 million acres only one time — in 1963.
This year’s fire season was unusually severe in the Northwest. Wildfires there destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate, sometimes for weeks on end.
The season included the largest blaze in the history of Washington state, the Okanogan Complex fire, which killed three firefighters.
The 2015 wildfire season was also the costliest on record. In December, the U.S. Forest Service reported that $1.71 billion was spent to fight the blazes.
The expanse razed by wildfires last year is roughly the size of Connecticut and Massachusetts combined.